Thursday, August 4, 2016

1980-81 Regular Season

Uniforms Worn in 1980-81:

1980-81 seemed to be characterized by shifts of power.
Powerhouses from the ‘70s such as LA and Minnesota found themselves beginning
to drop in the standings, while clubs like Washington, Pittsburgh, St. Louis
and the defending champion California Nuggets found their way to the top. Now
two years removed from their impressive dynasty, the LA Wizards dropped to
second place in the Pacific Division for the first time since 1973, finishing
just one point behind California, who took first place in the Pacific thanks to
a 100-point effort from Captain Dennis Yates. Seattle returned to the
post-season while Edmonton struggled, losing ten in a row in March to drop out
of playoff contention. David Appleby enjoyed an incredible season that saw him
score 63 goals thanks in large part to Niklas Ekberg’s 77 assists. On the
strength of the dynamic duo, the Spirits won the league regular season title
for the first time in franchise history, just edging out California by two
points for the top spot. In Chicago, Vladimir Gaganov enjoyed a very successful
sophomore year, scoring 48 goals to lead the club in scoring once again as the
Shamrocks took second place in the Central. Denver also made a push for the
division title as the Central Division proved to be arguably the toughest in
the league. Minnesota keenly felt the loss of their longtime captain Guy
Dupont. Despite a solid effort in goal from Bobby Sorel, the aging Lumberjacks
dropped all the way to fourth place in the Central Division, while Dallas
dropped back out of the playoffs after a disappointing 24-win season.

The 1980-81 season also saw a few big rivalries develop.
After meeting in the playoffs twice in the previous three years, things were
getting tense between the Pittsburgh Stingers and Washington Generals. Things
boiled over in a home-and-home series on December 19 and 20 when Pittsburgh’s
Nate Carroll delivered a vicious elbow to the head of Washington’s Tommy
McGuire. Carroll was suspended for five games but the Generals still wasted no
time going after the Stingers in Washington December 20. Several fights broke
out and even Danny Stevenson got involved when he fought defenseman Joe Kelly
in his first career fight. There would be more incidents like this between the
two teams throughout the year, but the rivalry still would not equal the lengths
the Ottawa Beavers and Toronto Racers rivalry escalated to. All year, as usual,
the two teams played each other hard and nasty, even chirping each other off
the ice and to the media. But on February 2, the intensity found a whole new
level. Three nights earlier, Ottawa defenseman Ben Stewart caught Toronto’s
Pasi Villanen with a devastating hit that knocked the young Fin out for three
games. After a few more questionable hits from Ottawa players, Toronto coach
Dave Mills called out the Beavers for their dirty play, calling them “a bunch
of cavemen.” When the Racers visited the Beavers on February 2, much of the
Ottawa crowd came dressed as cavemen, carrying plastic clubs and bones. When
Toronto put the game out of reach, the fans began to litter the ice with the
props while the on-ice officials struggle to maintain order on the ice as
several fights broke out. Finally, afraid the benches would clear, the
officials decided to end the game, giving it to the Racers. Needless to say,
the decision was not a popular one with the Ottawa fans, who began to litter
the ice even more. On March 1, the rivalry finally culminated with a
heavyweight fight between Ottawa captain Casey Beckett and Toronto enforcer Rex
Hull at the Queen Elizabeth Arena. Ottawa would eventually get the better of
the Racers, finishing second in the Division with 91 points.

While the rest of the Eastern Conference teams were beating
up on each other, the veteran-heavy Montreal Royal enjoyed another strong year.
Most of the Royale’s success came from a big year from 12-year vet Emmett
Husdson, who scored 44 goals and a total 128 points in his best season ever. In
the Atlantic, Washington would need only 38 wins to claim the division, thanks
mostly to their 14 ties. This made them the first team since the 1973 Calgary
Wranglers to win a division with less than 40 wins. Philadelphia, after some
disastrous seasons at the end of the 70s, finally returned to the playoffs,
While Boston struggled once again as they continued their rebuild with a
stunning move, trading longtime captain Johnny Bedford to Calgary in exchange
for top prospect Justin Brady at the trade deadline. Although the fans were
upset, Boston Management defended the move saying Brady would be an important
piece in the rebuild and a player who could potentially play a full-time role
the following season. Meanwhile Calgary now felt they had a veteran player in
Bedford who gave them an enormous boost heading into what figured to be a very
intriguing post-season.